Co-written by NYC music journalist Victor Bockris and former Exploding Plastic Inevitable dancer (and Factory best boy) Gerard Malanga, Up-Tight is the definitive account of the Velvet Underground's history. From the fateful meeting of Lou Reed and John Cale whilst opening supermarkets as nonexistent rock'n'roll group "the Primitives" (prefiguring the Monkees by two years) to the Velvets' short-lived but sublime 1993 reunion, it's all here...in both words and an astonishing wealth of photos. There's invaluable commentary on songwriting and recording from the band itself: Sterling Morrison rates "Venus in Furs" as their finest moment ("It was the closest we ever came in my mind to being exactly what I thought we could be"), and Reed voices his disgust at how Loaded, their final album, was mangled in the studio after he and the group had parted ways ("On 'New Age' it goes: 'Something's got a hold on me and I don't know what / It's the beginning of a new age.' That was supposed to go on for a full minute, that was the powerful part of the song, they have it go on for one chorus. How could anyone be that stupid?").

It's hard to imagine what rock music would have been like without the Velvet Underground's lingering influence. If you're a fan of anything that falls under the "alternative" rubric, you owe a debt of gratitude to this band; punk, goth, nerd rock and all the rest of it can be traced directly back to them. Were there any justice in this world, the VU's brilliance would have been recognized during the late '60s and not years after the fact. ( )

I have to say it's been some years since I've read this book. I remember though liking it very much--but it should be kept in mind I'm a little biased on the subject. The Velvet Underground--the mid-60's to early 70's band was a precursor to much of the music that was to first rear its head towards the end of the 70's with the Punk and then the New Wave explosion. An astounding band originally showcasing two musical pioneers--Lou Reed and John Cale combined New York cool into a sometimes elegant and sometimes gritty sound that kept itself deliberately out of touch and distanced from the rock and roll music of their times. The first album The Velvet Underground and Nico could almost be looked at as a short story collection linked together around a couple major (drugs, sex) and several minor themes. Cale in particular (associated with many of America's avant-garde classical musicians) had unique perspectives on how to push rock music forward into new territory.

The book written by two insiders Bockris and Malanga detail their association with Andy Warhol and allows the musicians to speak for themselves--telling their own anecdotes--the why's and the wherefore's. The book flows very naturally and is stuffed chock full of photos and is worth it just as a period piece about the music of that particular era. The Velvet Underground was a minor player in the rock music of its day but a major influence on many bands that follow in their footsteps later on. ( )